Wonder Boys kick off 98th season todayFinally, the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense gets to hit somebody else. Finally, we’ll see how all that preparation and hours in the film room has paid off. Finally, they’ll get to show off the new turf at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field. And finally, it’s time to put 2011 away for good. The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys will kick off their 98th season of football when they face Bacone College at 6 p.m. today. “This has been a fun group to coach,” ...

New players, same goal for men’s soccer teamCLARKSVILLE — Despite nearly half the team made of freshmen, University of the Ozarks’ head men’s soccer coach John Cossaboon’s goals remain the same entering the 2012 season, which begins Friday against Central Baptist College. Ten first-year players won’t change the veteran coach’s thinking regarding postseason play, he explained. Ozarks was edged out of the playoffs last season after finishing with a 5-7-1 conference mark. With just one mor...

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Ozarks Sports InformationThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cross country teams using momentum to help build traditionCLARKSVILLE — With the momentum from last season’s success still pushing them forward, both the University of the Ozarks’ men’s and women’s cross country teams are eyeing fast fall finishes. The teams will open the season on Saturday at the University of Dallas Invitational in Irving, Texas, before hosting the Ozarks Invitational in Clarksville at 10 a.m. Sept. 29. After finishing last season’s NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional in the...

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Ozarks Sports InformationThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Improved depth, talent breeds optimism for Lady EaglesCLARKSVILLE — Heading into the 2012 season, head women’s soccer coach Bryan Drotar is content with the talent level and improved depth of his team. University of the Ozarks returns 11 lettermen, including a solid sophomore class to go along with an impressive freshmen crop. Six starters are back for Drotar’s team, which finished 3-16-0 overall in 2011. Ozarks will open the season Friday against Central Baptist College in Clarksville. “We have ...

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Ozarks Sports InformationThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Uncertainty trumps anticipation for HogsLITTLE ROCK — Counting down to the start of college football, Razorback fans line up behind both anticipation and uncertainty. An unscientific poll of about a dozen acquaintances, relatives, and friends shows the sentiment divided about as evenly as the electorate in the presidential race where a recent CNN poll says President Obama and Mitt Romney are in a statistical dead heat. In August, when optimism is fed by coaches and players and peopl...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Alabama does not define UA seasonLITTLE ROCK — Parroted incessantly, the idea that Arkansas’ 2012 season will be crystal after Sept. 15 is flat wrong. College football doesn’t work that way. Besides, the manual — the one with the season-long record extrapolated from the final score of a particular game — is apparently under lock and key. The guess is that the imaginary document reads something like this: • Arkansas beats Alabama. A 12-0 record is in the bag. Next stop, Atlant...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Dampeer continues to collect honorsArkansas Tech Wonder Boys senior defensive lineman Roland Dampeer gathered his second preseason all-America honor on Wednesday, as the Mendenhall, Miss., native was picked to the USA Football News preseason all-America second team. Dampeer was previously selected to the Beyond Sports College Network (BSN) all-America preseason third team. The senior earned first-team all-Great American Conference honors last season after leading the Wonder Boy...

ATU hires Smith as SIDPaul Smith joined the Arkansas Tech University Athletics Department as sports information director on Monday. Smith has previously served as sports information director at the University of Arkansas-Monticello, Delta State University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. His most recent assignment in the field was as assistant sports information director at NCAA Division I member Oakland University (Mich.) from 2007-09. Smith has spent the ...

Tech offense puts up big numbers in scrimmageArkansas Tech rolled up 780 yards of total offense during a 139-play scrimmage at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field on Saturday night. The Wonder Boys passed for 469 yards and ran for 311 yards during the one-hour-and-45-minute workout, which was the first major intrasquad scrimmage of Arkansas Tech’s preseason camp. Wonder Boys head coach Steve Mullins said the defense needed to get better, and some key players need to get back on the field inst...

May gets TD Club off to good startLITTLE ROCK — Decked out in shorts and a colorful button-down collar shirt, ESPN analyst Mark May dropped by a Little Rock radio station to talk a little football on Monday morning. Off the air, there was a conversation about his blunt assessment of the Penn State mess and how his employer appreciated his honesty to the point of wanting May to weigh in on all things controversial in college football. You know the man is candid when he tells se...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arkansas counting on offensive line’s experienceFAYETTEVILLE — Brey Cook smiled wide when asked what he learned during his first go around through the Southeastern Conference. The Arkansas offensive tackle saw plenty last season, logging time in 11 games as a true freshman. As a highly sought-after recruit, Cook thought he was ready but he was taken aback by the talent he saw on defensive lines from week to week. “There are a lot of big guys out there,” Cook said. “I learned you’re not the ...

No. 10 Razorbacks stay focused on season openerFAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has said all preseason it has enough talent and experience on its roster to be a championship team in 2012. The 60 voters in the Associated Press poll believe the Razorbacks are at least worthy of top 10 ranking to open the season. Arkansas, which finished No. 5 in the season-ending AP poll last winter, is ranked No. 10 this preseason. The AP poll was released Saturday, two weeks after the Razorbacks were also ranked No...

Remarkable salesmanship by Arkansas assistantsLITTLE ROCK — Casting about for an explanation of the remarkable sale of the Arkansas football program to more than a dozen young men, I was trying too hard. How in the world had the Razorback coaching staff sold the athletes and their families on Fayetteville? Facilities and tradition are commodities, matched by other schools. Whether a parent or player is doing the asking, consider the questions that the UA salesmen cannot answer: Click here...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arkansas seeks punt return weaponFAYETTEVILLE — Dennis Johnson knows the bar has been set remarkably high for Arkansas punt returners. After all, the running back did watch former Razorback Joe Adams zig-zag his way around the field, shake tacklers and burst to the end zone four times last season. So Johnson isn’t shy about what has to be done at Arkansas this season now that Adams is wowing fans in a Carolina Panthers uniform. “I’ve got to at least take, what, five back to f...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

GAC lists inaugural academic honorsFollowing the inaugural season of competition of play in the Great American Conference, the league office in Russellville announced Thursday that 366 student-athletes achieved academic all-conference honors, including 33 from Arkansas Tech University. East Central (Okla.) and Harding each had 58 students earn GAC Academic All-Conference, best among the nine league institutions. The Tigers boasted the most all-academic honorees in baseball, men...

Suns favored to win GAC againArkansas Tech University volleyball head coach Kristy Bayer said Thursday the Golden Suns have gone through good two-a-day workouts since Monday. ATU was chosen by the coaches in the Great American Conference (GAC) to repeat as league champion in 2012. This year’s team is very athletic and half is newcomers, but she explained the freshmen have been making a good transition to the college level. “With seven freshmen, I expected some learning to...

Jones enjoys role as leaderThis is the second in an eight-part, position-by-position series previewing the 2012 Razorbacks. Up next: Special teams FAYETTEVILLE — It was a simple question, but Arkansas defensive end Chris Smith couldn’t come up with a concrete answer Tuesday. Sure, he has heard teammate D.D. Jones jawing with offensive players plenty the past couple of seasons. He has laughed at some of the exchanges, too. But when asked to pinpoint one specific example ...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Five Razorbacks who must do wellLITTLE ROCK — Two converts, a repentant thief, a five-star who has been a disappointment, and a newbie make up a list of players who must do well if this Arkansas football team is to come close to expectations. Tenarius Wright, Brandon Mitchell, Jason Peacock, Darius Winston, and Rohan Gaines are the flip side of Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis, Cobi Hamilton, Chris Gragg, and Alvin Bailey. Production from Wilson, Davis, Hamilton, Gragg, and Bailey ...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Four Downs: Coaches expect more from defense1. No days off for linebackers Arkansas’ linebackers have received an earful of coaching from assistant Taver Johnson the past couple of days. Johnson was visibly upset at his group just before the midway mark of Monday’s practice and then had them run through extra conditioning work when the workout was over. He was animated again during Tuesday’s workout on the intramural field, getting onto his group for some mistakes during team drills. Ar...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

A look at the Hogs by position: O-lineThis is the first in an eight-part, position-by-position series previewing the 2012 Razorbacks. FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas offensive lineman David Hurd didn’t know what to expect when he was summoned into John L. Smith’s office this summer. The walk-on didn’t exactly know what happened, either, after Smith put a piece of paper in front of him, told him to sign it, then offered his congratulations. It wasn’t until he called teammate Tyler Deacon —...

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Arkansas News BureauThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley